


Suit and Tie

by Fandemonium_Pandemonium



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-08
Updated: 2014-07-08
Packaged: 2018-02-08 01:40:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1921905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandemonium_Pandemonium/pseuds/Fandemonium_Pandemonium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[All human AU<br/>Pernico, Reynabeth, with all the other ships being canon.]</p>
<p>With a bit of a dry cleaners mix-up, Nico and Percy meet. Later that same day, at Leo's half-sister's quinceañera, who does Nico see again? That handsome boy with those shining sea green eyes and the easy-going smile: Percy Jackson of course.</p>
<p>|Part 1 of a two part oneshot|</p>
            </blockquote>





	Suit and Tie

Nico walks into the dry cleaners a block away from his new apartment, already regretting that he's agreed to go to this party.

_I barely even know Leo,_ Nico grumbles to himself. _Hazel's closer with him than I am, and I don't even know his half-sister._

Nico steps into the dry cleaners, the chilly air from inside giving him major goosebumps after walking in the even-higher-than-usual humidity. He fishes his ticket out of his wallet, and presents it to the Asian guy (whose name tag reads Aki) at the front. Nico runs a checklist through his head of things he needs to do before Leo's half-sister’s quinceañera.

_What's her name again?_ Nico wonders absentmindedly.

Nico's thoughts are interrupted by Aki's return. "The suit is not here. It was just picked up about five minutes ago by a boy about your age. If it helps, I have his suit and address and he'll probably be more than willing to trade your suit for his," Aki says.

Nico is surprised by the old man's heavy New York accent, but he knows better than most people that appearances aren't all that they seem. Nico says thank you to Aki before taking the suit and the piece of paper with an address and name on it and walking back into the humidity. He reads the address and then walks toward the mysterious tux stealer's apartment. Luckily it's just a few blocks from where Nico is at, so he doesn't even bother hailing a cab. At the top of the thin, small sheet of paper there's a name: _Percy Jackson._

_Sounds Greek_ , Nico muses. _I hope he speaks English, because the only other language I know is Italian._

He reaches the apartments a few minutes later. Nico's apartment is on the one of the nicer sides of town, and these apartments seem a little worn down to him. There's a couple kids throwing a ball around by the street, and they glance at him curiously for a second before returning to their game. Nico walks up to the apartment, 221B.

_Huh,_ Nico thinks. _That's the same number as my apartment_.

He shrugs and knocks on the door. A few seconds later the door opens, and a woman in her mid-thirties is standing on the threshold. Her hair is a nice shade of brown and is sort of wavy. Her sparkling blue eyes meet Nico's deathly black ones. "Yes?" She asks, wiping her hands on a towel then throwing it around her neck. She gives him a small smile. "What can I help you with?"

Nico shuffles his feet and asks, "Um, does a Percy Jackson live here?"

The woman's smile unconsciously becomes a little wider and she replies, "Yes, I'm his mother. Why do you ask?"

"Well, he accidentally picked up my suit. I have his." Nico holds up the suit that he's been carrying, the blue tints on the cuffs and the collar shimmering a little in the bright sunlight. The rest of the suit is a deep black, quite similar to Nico's eyes. The woman eyes the suit then looks back at Nico.

She flashes him a quick apologetic smile, and asks him, "Would you like to come in? Your suit would be on Percy's bed, and I can grab it for you while you cool off a bit from this hot weather."

Nico is about to say no, he usually doesn't trust strangers as far as he can throw them (which would be, like, a foot at the most), but he doesn't want to be rude, and besides, he can smell cookies being made. He gives a quick, small nod, and follows the lady into her apartment. "By the way," she says, looking over her shoulder, "my name is Sally Jackson."

Nico feels like he's supposed to introduce himself at this moment, so he gives her another nod and replies, "I'm Nico di Angelo."

"Nice to meet you, Nico," Sally says before leading him into the kitchen.

** <~~>**

After stuffing himself with the amazing cookies that Sally made, the mysterious Percy appears from the side hall. His suit fits on him nicely; the small sections of blue tint making his eyes seem even deeper. He walks over to his mother and gives her a quick kiss on the cheek, then hands the suit he was holding to Nico. Nico eyes Percy for a second, his eyes quickly roaming what could be seen of the older boy's strong build, then he tears eyes away and shakes his head a little.

_Not here_ , Nico thinks. _Focus on what you came for. Yes, he might be cute, but he's probably a total jock._

Nico stands up, and after saying a quick thank you for the delicious cookies and the return of his much-needed suit, walks back to his apartment. His mind, for some reason, keeps flashing back to that one moment when Percy stepped out of the hallway and reached out to brush his hair out of his face, his suit shining even brighter as it caught the full beam of sunlight coming through the nearby window.

Nico quickly unlocks his apartment and dashes inside. His watch says 5:30 PM and Nico knows he's barely going to be able to get to the party on time. He hates being late, even though he usually isn't, but he hates all the heads turning toward the door and staring at him when he is. He quickly hops in the shower, and when he gets out again it's already 5:40.

_The party starts at 6:00,_ Nico fumes, _and it's awhile away. I shouldn't have stayed at that apartment that long. That stupid Percy Jackson is going to make me late._

He shoves on his suit, and throws on his red bow tie (because bow ties _are_ cool), but then slows down to smooth out all the wrinkles because he knows that his ADHD will get distracted by them and it's hard enough driving his tiny moped in New York rush time traffic anyway. He barely remembers to give Death Breath, his cat, her food and to lock the door before barreling down the steps toward the small garage. He jumps on his moped and shoves on his helmet, then takes off, weaving expertly through the traffic.

** <~~>**

He reaches the party, which is at some fancy hotel, and quickly gives his moped to one of the valet employees at the hotel's main entrance. Before he runs inside, he checks his watch and sees that it is miraculously 5:58 and says a quick thank you prayer to whoever is watching out for him. He straightens his red bow tie before peeking into the ballroom that one of the hotel staff directed him to, and sees Hazel Levesque, his half-sister, sitting in a chair near the entrance, her back facing him. Her dark curly hair is loose, falling in waves down her back. A couple of their mutual friends are sitting at the same table, including Leo. Hazel's boyfriend, Frank Zhang, is sitting next to her. There's an empty chair on the other side of her, and Nico heads toward that. He's about halfway there when he notices a vaguely familiar suit. It's black with blue tint in the cuffs and the collar --- and Nico realizes with a shock that it's Percy Jackson and somehow he's friends with Leo, too. Nico doesn't really hang out with anyone except Jason, Hazel, and Reyna which sometimes includes Piper, Frank, and Leo. They're known at their school as The Seven – Frank, Leo, Hazel, Jason, and Piper – but Nico didn't stop to think who the last two of The Seven are. He knew it wasn't him and Reyna, they had always been more of tag-alongs more than part of the actual group.

A blonde girl, about Percy's age, turns her head away from the stage, and looks toward Nico as if she somehow senses that he is there. Her storm-grey eyes are ruining her California look, and he fights the stupid urge to ask if she’s wearing colored contacts. He sees her unconsciously lean toward Percy, which for some reason makes Nico mad. He's about to walk away when Percy looks up at sees Nico. He blinks, as if he isn't sure if Nico is really there, and then Hazel turns around. She waves to Nico and motions for him to come over. Nico gives a small groan, he can't run away now without seeming stupid, so he gives up and slowly walks over to the chair. He sits down on the plush, red seat, trying to avoid Percy's questioning stare but at the same time stealing glances at the older boy.

A girl of about fifteen years of age glides onto the stage, and her purple fluffy dress is falling and flowing along the dark wood of the stage floor. The bottom of the front of dress touches right below her knees, and as it falls toward the back it gets longer and longer until it's dragging along the ground. Golden vines are stitched along the collar, the end of the short, puffy sleeves, the waistline, and the bottom of the dress, along the hem. They catch the bright light, shining into Nico's eyes and blinding him for a moment. He hears her heels clacking along the floor, and catches a glimpse of them as her dress falls a little to the side. They're black leather, short combat boots, and they somehow fit the outfit and tie it together. Her long hair is super curly, just like Leo's, but hers has dark purple stripes in it and falls to her bum, and her eyes match Leo's brown ones, too. Nico realizes that this must be Leo's half-sister. Her face is a little plumper than Leo's lean one, and she resembles Leo a great deal. She smiles before she speaks (her smile even looks like Leo's, Nico thinks absentmindedly), and Nico suddenly remembers her name: Sarah Valdez _._

She raises the white microphone standing in the middle of the stage, and then speaks into it. "Hello, everyone! I'm so glad y'all have made it! There's a tradition in my family to write a speech and say it at your quinceañera, but I'm not really one for speeches. I've decided to sing one of my favorite songs instead, and I think it very much relates to this occasion."

Nico notices her slight Texan accent as she sings. When she finishes, the crowd breaks into applause, and Sarah blushes and bows. She walks off the stage, and her dress catches the light one last time before she exits.

“Hey, Nico, right?” a voice behind him asks.

Nico quickly turns around and it’s _him_. _Percy Jackson_. He’s tempted to yell, “What do you want?!”, but be doesn’t want to attract attention, so he settles for asking, “What are you doing here?”

Percy scratches the back of his neck, and his eyes dart to Nico’s face then quickly look away. He licks his lips, and Nico barely tears his eyes away from the sight before Percy looks the smaller boy straight in the eye. “Annabeth and I know Leo through school. We met him last year, and we all ended up going to the same collage here.”

“What collage do you go to?” Nico asks, half wanting his guess to be right and half wanting his guess to be wrong.

“The City Collage of New York. Annabeth wanted to go to Baylor, but she got offered a better deal at CCNY.” Percy hesitates, then continues, “Which collage to you go to?”

“Same as you.”

Percy looks surprised for a moment, and then says, “I’m surprised I never noticed you.”

Nico shrugs. “Not many people do.”

Percy looks a little uncomfortable at this, but not completely put off by it, and for some reason Nico doesn’t want to make Percy uncomfortable. Maybe it’s Percy’s almost puppy-dogish, open and trusting expression, or his rather handsome face, or the way Percy approached him – wondering but not at all mean – but Nico doesn’t want to push him away like he does with every other new person he meets. Some part of him scolds him for thinking like this – thinking like he can just _trust_ someone; never matter someone he met just earlier that day. Another, bigger, part of him nudges him forward to ask Percy about his life, and answer questions in return. Nico can’t remember the last time he actually willingly tried to get to know someone better, but he seems to be doing well so far, if the bemused glint in Percy’s sea green eyes is anything to go by.

The time passes quickly, and Nico doesn’t check his watch at all, content with just sitting and chatting with Percy. Hazel sends Nico a few questioning glances. From the last glance Nico guesses that something clicked in Hazel’s mind, and light blush quickly rises in Nico’s cheeks. He glares back at Hazel, who knows fully well what she’s doing, and Hazel gives him a smart, cheeky smirk in return before going back to talking to Frank. Percy, thankfully, either doesn’t see the exchange and the light blush dancing across Nico’s pale cheeks, or chooses to ignore it.

Later on Nico checks his watch for the first time that night, just out of curiosity, and it reads 1:30 AM. Shocked, Nico looks around and sees that everyone besides Hazel and Frank have left, and he quickly points out the fact to Percy. Nico’s phone buzzes and he sees Hazel and Frank leave the room. He checks his phone, and it’s a text from Hazel: _We’re leaving now, okay? Don’t stay too much longer. I’m going to Frank’s, and I heard the rest of the Seven and Reyna will be there also. Do you want to come?_ Nico shuffles his feet. Usually he doesn’t feel like going to after parties (or any parties at all), but today feels different. Nico sees that Percy is checking his phone.

“What’s up?” Nico asks quietly.

Percy looks up from his phone and replies, “Annabeth sent me a text. She wanted to know if I want to go to the after party.” He pauses for a second, and then continues so fast that his words seem to blur a little. “Would you like to come?”

“Yes, I think I would.”

Nico and Percy head toward the valet station. Nico shows the guy working there his receipt, and his moped is quickly brought to the main entrance. Percy stands there, slightly awkward, not even moving toward the valet employee.

“Where’s your car?” Nico asks.

“Well… I came with Annabeth, and it seems like she’s taken the car home.” He seems to not know what else to say, so he just stands there looking even more awkward then before.

Without skipping a beat – although his heart certainly does – Nico grabs Percy by the hand and shoves his backup helmet into Percy’s hands. Percy fiddles with the many straps of the helmet, before sending a sort of pleading look Nico’s way. With a little sigh, Nico gently takes the helmet from Percy’s hands and slides it onto his face. His raven hair and tanned face is covered by the black plastic of the helmet, and only his bright, slightly excited eyes are visible in the small slot. Nico straps on his helmet too, but instead of his being just black it also has small grey skulls.

Percy hesitantly climbs on behind Nico, his hands wrapped loosely around his waist, and the smaller boy takes off. Percy’s hands tighten as Nico dodges with practiced ease around the small amount of traffic. He remembers the address of Frank’s house, and it only takes them fifteen minutes, half the usual time with Nico’s driving. Nico glances back to see if Percy is okay and bright, excited, sea green eyes meet his onyx black ones.

Nico pulls off first his helmet, then Percy’s, and Percy immediately asks, “Can we do that again?!”

Nico laughs, something he hasn’t done for quite some time, and replies, “Of course.”

Percy follows the younger boy into the house, and they walk into the living room. They are greeted by the sight of almost forty people dancing to the pop music blasting out of the speakers. The air is filled with sweat and the smell of cheap alcohol. Both Percy and Nico freeze at the sight. They were both clearly expecting just the Seven, and maybe Reyna.

Leo dances up to them, and Percy asks, “Leo, what is this?”

Leo laughs overly hard, and Nico can smell beer on his breath. “It’s a party, man! We haven’t had one in a while!”

He dances off, but not before shoving a bottle of beer in each of their hands. Percy shrugs, used to this kind of behavior, and drowns half of the bottle in one sip. Nico takes a small sip from his bottle, but it doesn’t taste that good, so he places it on a nearby counter. Percy’s already finished one beer, and is almost done with the second one. Nico’s thin, pale fingers wrap around his wrist, and he manages to drag the slightly drunk boy outside before he tries to grab a third beer.

“What was that?” Nico hisses.

Percy totters a bit on his feet before going to sit down at the edge of the porch. “Just trying to have some fun, Nica.” Nico sort of likes the random nickname.

Nico sighs. Just by talking to the older boy for a few hours, he could tell that he was someone who acted first and thought later. Nico was the exact opposite.

“Just don’t drink anymore alcohol, Perce,” Nico sighs, quite liking the way the unintentional nickname sounded on his tongue. “Your girlfriend would kill me.”

“Girlfriend?” Percy frowns. “I’m sure I’m not that drunk enough to forget I have a girlfriend.”

“Annabeth….isn’t your girlfriend?” Nico asks hesitatingly.

“Nope,” Percy replies, his words slurring a bit. “She wants to ask Reyna out.”

“Hmm,” is Nico’s only reply. _I knew about Reyna, but Annabeth? That’s interesting._

Percy looks like he was about to pass out, so Nico quickly pulls him up and leads him to one of the many empty guest bedrooms. On the way there, he sees Annabeth and Reyna through a slightly open door. Reyna has her hands tangled in Annabeth’s long princess hair, and Annabeth has one hand on Reyna’s braid and the other hand cupping her face. They lean in for a kiss, and Nico leads the slightly tipsy Percy down the hall before he could yell out something stupid and get them caught. He leads Percy inside the room, which he vaguely notices is a mixture of sea greens and black, and guides Percy to the bed. Percy collapses on top of it, and Nico is about to sit on the black leather couch, when a hand grasps his wrist. He looks down and it’s Percy, his eyes barely open.

“Can you sit with me, please?”

_Polite even when he’s drunk,_ Nico snorts. “Okay,” he replies, and settles down onto the bed with a sigh.

He looks down at his suit, and with faint amusement he realizes that it’s going to be hell to iron these wrinkles. Percy’s suit seems perfect, of course. Nico is laying as far as possible from Percy, partly on instinct, and partly because he doesn’t want to intrude on the older boy.

Percy’s head lifts up, and he asks Nico in a sleepy voice, “What are you doing all the way over there?”

He tugs Nico over, then promptly throws his arm around the younger boy’s waist, and places his hand in his dark hair.

“Nico,” he says. He stares at Nico’s eyes for a minute, black ones meeting sea green ones, and leans in. His lips brush Nico’s, and Nico leans in a little bit, before pulling out of the slight, sweet kiss.

“Percy, I’m sorry. I can’t do this. You’re obviously drunk.” Percy opens his mouth to protest, but Nico cuts him off. “I never said that I didn’t want to.”

He looks away and blushes before continuing, “But, you’re drunk, and if you still want to, I’ll be here in the morning.”

Percy gives a small nod before falling asleep in the comforting arms of Nico DiAngelo.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
